At the end of a day on which Zimbabwe had taken a firm grip on the second Test, Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore conceded that his charges were left with a near impossible task just to save the match.

"The match is now heading towards a Zimbabwe victory unless our batsmen can really pull off something extra special," said the 50-year old Australian at the end of day's press briefing.

When asked what he wants from his boys, the Bangladesh coach was forthright in his expectations. "Occupation of the crease," said Whatmore before adding: "We have to bat better, much better than in the first innings. I think the pitch is still okay. I believe if you want to stay in, it is difficult to get out."

Whatmore said that patience, which was virtually non-existent in the Bangladesh first innings, was the key.

"We didn't bat well in the first innings. They bowled straight and unfortunately our boys played across the line a little bit. There was impatience that resulted in wickets falling at regular intervals. And the total was well below what we should have got," said Whatmore.

Tigers' captain Habibul Bashar however thought that playing their natural game when they bat in the second innings would serve his team better.

"It is difficult to save the match. I think it will be better for us if we tried to win the match. We should play our natural game to earn something special. We will need some good partnerships," said Bashar.

Bashar defended his decision of not bringing in part-time bowlers into the attack earlier in a bid to break the partnership of Taibu and Brendan Taylor.

"(Mohammad) Rafique had given us breakthroughs under similar circumstances in the past and that's why I persisted with him," said Bashar.

Zimbabwe skipper Tatenda Taibu continued to lead by example with an unbeaten 81 as his side stretched the second innings lead to 290 by the close. The 21-year-old did not appear at the press conference but his partner in a brilliant 150-run stand for the fifth wicket Brendan Taylor laid down their plan.

"We need to have a big lead to win the match because Bangladesh have some quality players. We need to make sure of at least a 380-run lead," said Taylor who scored 78.

"We are hopeful that we can win this match and level the series as the pitch is now deteriorating. The ball is keeping low and offering some uneven bounce," he added.

Taylor said that his skipper's positive attitude had helped them in bouncing back from the 226-run defeat in Chittagong.

"He (Taibu) always told us that we were all very talented and had the ability to win Test matches. After the first Test he told us to take inspiration from the positive things."


YOU NEED THIS SORT OF EFFORT TO WIN: Bangladesh wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud creates a catch out of nothing to dismiss Zimbabwe's Elton Chigumbura for nought on the third day of the second and final Test at the Maulana Bhasani National Stadium yesterday. PHOTO: AFP